Guest Post: An Unexpected Lesson by Sophie Walker |

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Sophie Walker who recently published An Unexpected Lesson, her debut novel.

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This is such a crazy experience!

I never thought of myself as a writer. I used to keep a diary but that was about it! Then one day, after writing my sad entry about how confused I was about why I didn’t like boys, I turned to the back page of my diary and started writing down a short story. I don’t know what made me do it – A mix of my growing crush on Helena Bonham Carter and staring out the window pretending to be in a music video to old Miley Cyrus songs.

I was still unsure about my sexuality at this point, but the more I wrote, the more the two female characters came together and *SPOILER* they kissed. Everything suddenly made sense. I stopped writing my story and started living it, I came out to my family and started dating girls.

Fast forward 9 years and I was searching the internet for quick ways to make money, so that me and my fiancée could get married and what did I see but ‘write a novel’. Well, I already had a story in mind….

The story is so close to my heart as it was created at one of the best times of my life – when I discovered I was gay and the world suddenly made sense! Although the story is fictional, the emotions of the main character, April, reflect my own, which made it extra fun to write!

April is grown up in so many ways – she has travelled the world and spent her life surrounded by adults, but she is also very naïve. University and being around people her own age is something that she has never experienced before. Travelling has kept her in a little bubble where she feels like she knows who she is but, like many of us, university is a place where you really discover yourself. The second she sees Rachel she knows there is something drawing her to her (love at first sight, if you will). This is a connection that she hasn’t experienced before so it’s hard to understand what it is at first. Given some time, April slowly realises that maybe you don’t have to fall for the boy…

This is the first book I’ve written, but not the last, The Unexpected Series is a TRILOGY! So you have two more books to look forward to. When I’m not writing I also act, I sing, I own my own Photography business and I spend time with my fiancée. We are currently planning our wedding, which is fast approaching and also working on buying a flat, so it’s a busy busy year.

I met my fiancée years before we got together, when we were both working at Tesco (of all places!). She was a bread girl and I was checkouts. We rarely spoke but her nickname, given by me was ‘hot blonde girl’. A few years later, after I’d finished university, I spotted hot blonde girl at the gym…heart pounding I did what anyone does who has a crush on someone – ignore them. Luckily, she was much braver than me and asked me on a date! And the rest, they say, is history.

That is a brief background to me and my writing. I hope people enjoy the book because, as cheesy as it sounds, it really does come from the heart. I don’t claim to be the best writer but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished!

AN UNEXPECTED LESSON
The Unexpected: Book 1
by Sophie Walker

Romance

April Fields is an awkward twenty year old, who, up until recently travelled the world with her mum. After the tragic death of her dad, the two fly back to England where they discover they’ve been left his entire estate.

April’s mum decides it’s time for her daughter to have more stability and April is quickly thrown into the world of university – A foreign world filled with studying, alcohol and relationships. Here she meets her Biology tutor, Rachel Carter, and the two form a close friendship. After a drunk kiss between the two women, April struggles to come to terms with her sexuality, having never thought of women in that way. The two embark on a confusing journey to discover their feelings and try to find a way to be together.

The book attempts to deal with discovering your sexuality and coming out to friends and family in an uplifting way.